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Re:The Physics of Space War: How Orbital Dynamics Constrain ... by garmaine on Thursday October 22, 2020 @06:56AM (#24856707)
True, I didn't consider aneutronic fusion reactions. I don't think the sources I'm thinking of do, either.
Re:The Physics of Space War: How Orbital Dynamics Constrain ... by DennisP on Thursday October 22, 2020 @10:19AM (#24858287)
Re:The Physics of Space War: How Orbital Dynamics Constrain ... by Symmetry on Thursday October 22, 2020 @02:06PM (#24861143)
I think I was underestimating how much energy could be lost to x-rays on some of those. D2-He3, the aneutronic fusion everyone likes to talk about is still over 80% efficient but H1-B looks really bad if you're not driving a heat engine with it.
Re:The Physics of Space War: How Orbital Dynamics Constrain ... by DennisP on Thursday October 22, 2020 @03:31PM (#24862391)
Yes, though the H1-B reaction itself emits no electromagnetic radiation at all. The x-rays are from bremsstrahlung radiation. Some boron fusion projects think they have ways to avoid that (which is necessary to avoid the plasma cooling too fast to achieve net power).